Quantitative ethnobotanical study of therapeutic plants of Amarkantak hills in Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve, Central India

Amarkantak is a natural heritage site with luxuriant flora on the hilly terrain of Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve, Central India. The Gonds, Baigas, and other ethnic communities in the area have a wealth of traditional knowledge and practice phytotherapy as health practitioners. The study was undertaken to document the plants of ethnopharmacological significance and their quantitative analyses. The traditional knowledge was collected from informants using open interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. Including 42 health practitioners, a total of 286 respondents were interviewed. The data were analyzed through quantitative indices like Use value (UV), Family use-value (FUV), Relative Importance (RI), Fidelity level (FL), and Informant consensus factor (ICF). The findings on sociocultural demography and therapeutic utilization of plants were discussed in the context of previously published information. The report explained that 173 species belonging to 148 genera and 65 plant families were used against 17 disease categories. The highly mentioned families are Fabaceae (11.5%), Asteraceae (6.9%), Apocynaceae (5.7%), and Lamiaceae (5.7%). The most cited species are Andrographis paniculata, Ocimum sanctum, Tinospora sinensis, Holarrhena pubescens, Cyanoglossum lanceolatum, and Azadirachta indica, within 0.66-0.68 UV. Herbs (45.6%), leaves (17%), and hot infusion (22%) were the most preferred plant forms, employed parts, and recipes for the preparation of drugs. The gastrointestinal illness was the leading cause of concern in the area with 95 reports and a maximum ICF (0.71). The Hypoxidaceae family with a single highly used medicinal plant had the highest FUV (0.54). Curcuma longa (RI: 61.42) was found to be the most suitable species for treating a wide range of body systems. A. paniculata was the most chosen therapeutic plant with the highest FL (90.9). The findings look into a few key plant species with high use values that deserve special attention in drug development. The report recommends that ethnomedicinal plants be studied further for scientific validation after in vitro and in vivo investigations in disease-induced animal models, as well as safety assessments and clinical trials, to ensure safe therapy.